The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-27
$1,25o,ooo LOST BY FIRE.
Fart OF a Monster Packing Establisl
ment Burned at Chicago.

ment Burned at Chicago.
CHICAGO, June 26.-Earlv this morning
one OF the employees of the Chicago Packing
and Provision Company discovered fire in
the tank room. In a few minutes one of the
tanks exploded, scattering burning lard
over adjacent buildings, and dozen sepa-
te Iate llres were soon burning The destruc-
yloh OF the immense establishment was
nearly complete. Though the fire was under
cohurol TINS evening, fourteen and a ha&
nours after it started, embers are still smol-
derlng. The loss is 81 ,25O,000
MONSTER ESTABLISHMENT.
The Chicago Packing and Provision Com
pany's works occupy about six acres of
grounG, but the fire was kept within the
district bounded by FortieUh street, Centre
avenue, Forty-second street and the railroad
tracks block west of Centre avenue. This
territory contained four large buildings.
Ihe main building was 300x475 feet. In it
a portion of the killing was done and the
hanging, cutting, packing, curing and other
work Incidental to slaughterng establish
ment, Except the curing room, in which
were 100000 pounds of short ribs, the
main building and its contents are total
loss.
THE CURING ROOM.
The curing room, 100 by $50 feet, and four
stories high, lost it's roof, but stone fire
walls saved its contents, a portion of them
in roasted condition. On the east side of
the main building was warehouse, 1875 by
4OO feet with four stories and basement.
The two upper floors at the south end were
used for killing purposes. In the
warehouse were II 200 barrels of mess pork
belonging to Armour & Co. The building
and much OF the pork was wholly destroyed.
About 5000 live hogs were in the building
when the fire started but the company's
employees succeeded in getting most of them
out. Between 600 and 700 hogs were burned
alive in the building. Back of the main
building was fertilizing factory 100 feet
square and an engine house 80 by 60 feet.
Both structures were burned completely.
NO WIND BLOWING.
The fact that no wind was blowing when
the fire started was probably the only cir
cumstance that saved the entire stock yards
| from destruction. No person seems to
know the origin of the fire. Several saw
the blaze simultaneously as it went through
the roof of the tank house. The flames be-
gan rapidly to eat their way directly
| across the main building. Though the fire
department. was quickly at the scene the fire
had gained volume that no amount of
water could reduce. Huge sweeping circles
| OF flames were whirling upwards with roar
that could be heard for blocks Twenty
| engines and every reserve in the yards were
soon brought into play. All the efforts of
the firemen and hundreds of the stock yards
employees We're bent toward keeping the con-
fagration confined to the works of the Chi
cago company.
AN EXPLOSION.
1t was at this juncture while one little
SQUAD of firemen were standing in freight
car playing on the burning tank room when
the tanks exploded. A heavy beam
crushed through the car smashing pipeman
Bakers ankle and knocking Elliott uncon-
scious. Soon afterwards the walls of the
warehouse tunnbled to the ground, dis
closing great heaps of mess pork. P. D.
Armour Immediately set 100 men to work
removing the meat. Charred barrels of it
were rolled out and carted away. The little
army tramped over huge piles of loose pork
and carried big chunks of it out on the rail-
road tracks where it was thrown in heaps.
CARTING IT AWAY.
Two-wheeled carts and big four-wheeled
trucks were loaded from these heaps like
garbage wagons from the gutter. Mr.
Armour ruefully watched the mess Of pork
and cinders being cleared away, while his
manager stood on an elevation of mess pork
and superintended the work. In the debris
were the carcasses of hogs roasted whole
Charred bodies shriveled into helpless masses
of cinders, were mingled with piles of brick,
blackened beams and incinerated barrels
After the flames had consumed most of the
woodwork of the building, the fire still held
its way in the great mounds of burning
meat.
sIcKENING DOORS.
| Smoke thick with the fumes of tons of
roasting pork rolled over the stock pen and
drove into the eyes of the firemen. Falling
walls filled the air with PARTICLES Of brick
dust, binding and suffocating men. They
| were at times compelled to leave their hose
| and plunge their heads into buckets of
water. Then they sat in turns with hand
| kerchiefs dipped in water on their swollen
evelids or bathed their blistered cheeks with
dirty water.
AN EXCITING SCENE.
Perhaps the most exciting scene of the
day was presented when the men who were
| attempting to drive through the covered
run ways, the live hogs in the upper stories
were forced by the flames to desist. Below
were scores of workmen, rolling out barrels
of pork. Down on the crowd pell nell
leaped dozens of affrighted animals from
windows or sprang through the
omen hatchways. The men who
had braved the flames fed
| from the falling hogs and at distance
watched for glimpses of the squeallng brutes
| that craZed with pam were rushing iia'uy
about in their tall prison OF fire. About
200 barrels of pork were saved before the
hogs commenced jumping.
During the afternoon the fifemen gave
their attention to saving the short ribs in
the curing room. While nunber OF men
were inside the main building one of the di-
vision walls fell, seriously iniuring J. A.
Scafer. Thomas Murphy, W. w. Hile, Capt.
Nichols and Thomas Elliott.
ARMOUR GETS OUT EVEN
Mr.. Armour valued his LOO barrels Of
porl at S36, 900. He said that with the
salvage and Insurance he would come out
even. He was unable to give the amounts
of his insurance The plant of the Chicago
Packing and Provision Company was val
ned at $500, 600 and the stock at S70O,O
large part Of the stock in store belonged to
other parties, and the loss will be sustained
bv them. About half of the Chicago Pack
ing and Provision Company's2 Z, 600 employees
viii be thrown out of work. Fireman
Thomas Murphy died tonight.
Locks Turned on Loyalists.
Dun11N. June 26.-County Sheriff Hamil-
ton called meeting Of Loyalists for to-day